Lisa Hendrix

Even though I’m deep in the last chapters of Immortal Defender (coming sometime in 2012, btw), I’m managing to get around a little.

First,  an “appearance” I just found out about that left me gobsmacked: Wordsmith.org, the “A Word a Day” people, quoted from Immortal Champion in their word of the day for 7/13/11.  Really. Go look for yourself:

— Medieval collier, woodcut. Unknown artist —

http://wordsmith.org/words/collier.html

As a person who’s been known to read the dictionary for fun, this left me smiling all day. Upwards of a million people get the Word a Day email everyday—it’s hard to get an accurate number because the found stopped keeping track at 550,000 in 2003. And every one of them saw my usage of collier in Immortal Champion.  <g> If you don’t subscribe to A Word a Day, you should. It’s the best daily email you’ll get. Just click here.

Second, a slightly more traditional appearance coming up quickly:

Thursday, July 14, I have an interview and live chat on sister sites Book Monster Reviews and Literal Addiction Paranormal Book Club. The interview will be posted to both sites by 10am EST. The Live Chat will take place on the Literal Addiction site from 8-10pm EDT ((7-9pm CDT/6-8pm MDT/5-7pm PDT). I’ll be giving away signed copies of Immortal Champion at both sites, so be sure to drop by and comment, then join the chat this evening. You’ll need to register for the Author’s Corner forum at Literal Addiction in order to comment on their site, but it’s easy, so be sure to do that so you’re eligible to win. (The forum is on the Author Corner page, where the second part of the interview appears.)

The chat itself will be in in the chatroom on the Contact Page of Literal Addicition. Sign in this evening and ask your best questions. I’ll answer anything! Remember, 8-10pm EDT/5-7pm PDT.

See you there,

“For it giveth unto all lovers courage, that lusty month of May.” ~ Sir Thomas Malory

Happy First Day of Summer!

Wait, you say. It’s only May 1. Summer starts June 21.

But in Northern Europe, the first day of May traditionally marked the beginning of Summer, when you could reasonably expect the weather would be good enough for farming.

And that was all the excuse a body needed to get out and party. At first light, lads and lasses would head out into the woods to “gather the May,” making garlands of flowers and returning home at sunrise to hang their treasures over the doors of their sweethearts. Assuming they actually made it back to the village, the rest of the day was spent in feasting, singing, and dancing around the May pole on the village green.

For the ladies, another advantage of being out before dawn (other than running around in the shadowy woods unsupervised with a passel of young men) was the access to May dew, which was said to make a woman beautiful. Women continued to travel to the country well into the 19th century expressly to gather dew off the grass on May Day morn.

Some random facts about May Day:

Its roots go back to the Roman festival of Floralia, celebrating Flora, a goddess of flowers and Spring (And drinking. How can you not get behind celebrations for  a goddess of drinking?)

Bealtaine, the neopagan name for the holiday, is simply the Old Irish word for May Day. The month of May was Mí Bhealtaine, from a root meaning “bright fire” — which is why elebrations included bonfires on the hilltops, a tradition which survived well into the 20th century and which still can be found in some areas today.

The Old English name for May was “Þrimilci-mōnaþ,” or Trimilki,  The Month of Three Milkings, i.e. the time that farmers began to milk their cows three times a day.

May Day became associated with labor unions after the Federation of Organized Trade and Labor Unions unanimously set May 1, 1886 as the date by which an eight-hour work day would become standard. On that date, an estimated 300,000-500,000 workers went on strike across the U.S. in various cities in support of this “radical” idea.

May Day’s mischief and magic play a key role in bringing not one, not two, but three couples together in Immortal Champion, including Lady Eleanor’s maid Lucy and the dashing Henry Percy of Alnwick. You’ll find a little taste of Lucy and Henry’s May Day dalliance after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

My German publisher, Droemer Knaur, produced this fabulous book video to launch their translation of Nachtkrieger: Unsterbliche Liebe (Night Warrior: Immortal Love, aka Immortal Warrior). The video’s in German, of course, but the special effects when Ivar changes to the eagle are terrific, plus they used the real Alnwick castle (although in its current state, of course, not the wooden motte and bailey form Ari supervised). Its fun to watch, and you can grasp a bit of the story, even if you have no clue what they’re saying.

At the end there, you can catch a glimpse of the second book. It’s half hidden, but with a little video mnaipulation, I managed to capture a single frame that shows the whole thing. So here’s your sneak peak of  Nachtkrieger: Ewige Begierde (Night Warrior: Eternal Longing, aka Immortal Outlaw).

So what do you think? (Please, German readers reply, too. I can understand a little German, even though I can no longer speak or write it.)

~Lisa

Spring may have sprung, but my world is as hectic as ever. So we’ll start with a moment of zen…

That bit of loveliness comes from the yard across the street from us, which is a big patch of naturalized daffodils studded with hyacinths and cherry trees. As the daffodils fade over the next week or so, hundreds of tulips will break into bloom.  If you want to see the full yard, I just posted a shot over on my Facebook Page. Pop over for a look, and please hit the Like button to join the fun while you’re there.

Now for some of the other stuff:

Nachtkrieger: Unsterbliche Liebe has launched. That’s the German language edition of Immortal Warrior (the title translates as Nightwarrior: Immortal Love), and it’s doing very well on amazon.de.  My German publisher, Droemer Knaur has done a fabulous professional book video for the book. That’s also up on my Facebook Page. I’ll post it here tomorrow, along with a sneak peak at the cover of the second book in German.

RT Booklovers Convention ramps up this week and I’m heading down with a van-load of friends to join the fun. This will be my first time at RT, but I’ve been listening to people talk about it for years, and I know how intense it’s going to be. I mean, really, a hotel full of rabid romance fans and authors? Not a recipe for sleep.

Anyway, I’m going loaded with stuff to give away: Romance Trading Cards, giveaways from other writers, and even books. Every day, I’ll have a batch of swag in my giant brown bag, ready to hand out to lucky readers and bloggers, so be sure to say hi when you spot me. No telling what you’ll get.

And if you’re not attending RT, but you live in the Los Angeles area, be sure to drive into town for the Giant Book Fair, taking place Saturday, April 9, 2011, from 11am to 2pm. You’ll have the chance to meet 400 authors (including yours truly) and you can bring your favorite keeper books to get them signed, all for just $5.  This is one of the most popular events at RT, so I suggest you arrive at the Westin Bonaventure early to buy your tickets, so you can enjoy the entire bookfair.

So…That’s my week. I’m off to pack now. If you’re going to be at RT, either the whole con or the book fair, please give me a shout out below and I’ll keep an eye out for you.

A couple of weeks ago on Twitter, four or five folks were chatting about heroes when someone asked, “Why aren’t there romance hero trading cards.” Well, that’s all it took. Within two days there were templates and a website (thanks to author Jeannie Lin), and writers and readers all over the web were getting excited about trading RTC’s, including me. I had cards designed for each of my heroes so far, and I’ll keep adding to the set as more books come out.

The first three came in a couple of days ago. I’d have posted earlier, but my mother-in-law was coming and I had to clean — you know how that goes.  But here they are.  Pretty snazzy huh? (Especially Gunnar. Mmm…Gunnar)

Want some of your very own? (keep reading…)

I’ll have them with me at the RT Booklovers’ Convention in LA (April 6-10, 2011)—particularly at the Giant Book Fair on Saturday, April 9, 11am-2pm.  Afterwards, if there are any left, you’ll be able to get a set by sending me an SASE.

HOWEVER…

You can get some NOW for FREE. (This is where the bribe comes in )

Post a new, legitimate* review of Immortal Champion on Amazon or B&N.com between now and April 3,  and I WILL SEND YOU A SET OF AUTOGRAPHED  TRADING CARDS. Yep, I’ll pay for the stamp. You just have to post the review then notify me via the Contact form here on my site with the user name you used and the mailing address where you want me to send them. If you’re Canadian, you can post your review on Chapters.com or Amazon.ca. If you already posted a review on Amazon and want to get in on this, great. Just post your review again on another major site and let me know about it. I’m easy. Really.

Remember: The review must be newly posted between today, March 20, and April 3, and I must have your info by midnight, April 3 (because I’m heading to LA immediately after that and want to get these in the mail before I leave). So hurry and get that review up now. And be sure to let your friends know.  The more reviews, the merrier.

~Lisa

I’m over at Nas Dean’s blog, chatting about life, the universe and romance writing. Nas and I decided to give away a book. But this time, just to switch things up, you need to comment both there AND here.

The best part? Since Nas is tucked away on a South Seas island on the far side of the International Dateline, this  contest is international. Yep, I’ll mail a book anywhere that mail can be delivered, from Burkina Faso or Bulgaria to Tuvalu or Tuva…or even Tucson. All you have to do is comment here then pop over to read my post at Nas’s blog and make a comment there. All dual commenters will be entered into a random drawing to win a signed copy of Immortal Champion.

To make this end of it fun, we’ll do this as an ASK ME ANYTHING. I’ll pop in regularly over the next few days and answer any question you throw at me. If your comment also includes a link to a review you’ve done of Immortal Champion or to a mention of it on your blog, you get 3 times the number of entries, for 3 times the chances to win.

Contest open until midnight, March 11 (US, Pacific Standard Time)

We left signed copies behind at every bookseller we visited along our route, so if you live in that area, you can check B&Ns and/or Borders in Oceanside, Westwood, Century City, Montclaire Mall, Rancho Cucamonga, Glendale, Bakersfield, Emeryville, Stockton, Sacramento, Redding, Medford, Eugene, and the greater Portland area.

But for the rest of the country, there are wonderful Indie stores who have signed books on hand and will do mail or phone orders.

Paperback Bookstore (Lisa only)
12845 Poway Road, Suite #108, Poway, CA 92064-4526
(858) 486-1440

New & Recycled Romances
143/145 Broadway, Costa Mesa, CA 92627
(949) 645-0529 ‎

Covina Book Store
234 North Citrus Avenue, Covina, CA 91723-2091
(626) 966-7434

and our featured Indie (where there will ALWAYS be signed books available from both Delilah and me

Jan’s Paperbacks
18095 SW Tualatin Valley Highway, Beaverton, OR 97006-3953
(503) 649-3444

Today’s the official release day for IMMORTAL CHAMPION, and it’s a sign of how hectic it’s been aroundhere that I didn’t even get a post up. Bad Lisa. Bad.

And it’s still hectic, which means I’m not going to beat around the bush. Gunnar is one sexy Viking, and you need to get acquainted. CLICK HERE for an excerpt and a list of just a few of the places you can meet him.

Perhaps you’re wondering why I’m so crazed that I’m barely even up to blogging about my own book on release day. Well, it has a lot to do with working on the next one (Immortal Defender, due to my editor in February) and packing for an extended book tour.

BOOK TOUR. Those two words conjur a mix of excitement and dread in most authors, including yours truly. We are retiring, solitary types, we writers; if we weren’t, we’d be actors or rockstars.

But like those less shy types, we go on tour anyway. If we’re lucky, we get to go with someone.
(I’m lucky, btw. I get to go with Delilah Marvelle, who is the exception that proves the rule about retiring writers and who tends to bring out a less, ahem, shy side of me.

Which is the source of the the warning: WILD WOMEN ON TOUR.

If you live on the West Coast between San Diego (where I will sign at the American Library Association Winter Conference, among other places) and Portland, OR (where we will sign at Jan’s Paperbacks in Beaverton/Aloha), we may be signing near you. To find out, check out the official tour schedule on the Meet Lisa page.

It’s an incomplete schedule: We’ll be filling in gaps with tons of impromptu stock signings, where we find a nearby store and run in to schmooze the booksellers and sign stock on hand. If you can’t attend one of the formal events, follow one or both of us on Twitter to find out if we’re headed your way for a “drive-by” signing…And to offer your suggestions for good stores to visit along the way. (For that matter, if you know of a good romance-friendly bookstore along the I-5 corridor in California or Oregon, tell me below in comments and I’ll add it to our list.) (Booksellers can request a stop, too!)

We hope you’ll turn out to visit, perhaps buy a book, and have a good time. (I don’t want to start any rumors, but there may be a few prizes involved…)

See you along the road.

Lisa

PS: That’s Jan’s in the photo, and if you look closely, you can see Immortal Champion posters in the windows.

I was going to run a little contest for you all, with a prize to the first person to send me a picture of IMMORTAL CHAMPION on the shelves, but someone beat us to it. (Oh, darn.) A twitter buddy posted this shot on TwitPic just a few minutes ago:

(found in BooksAMillion, Rocky Mount, NC)

Now begins the craziness…

My new bookmarks just arrived, hot off the presses! Check them out, there on the left (click on image to see full size).

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Didn’t my designer do a terrific job? I’ll be mailing these out to the folks who have been waiting so patiently in the next 24 hours.

If you want on of these to fondle for yourself, just send a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope to me at PO Box 8092, Medford OR 97501. If you would like more than one so you can share with friends, or if you’d like to also receive one or more signed bookplates to put in your books, be sure to tell me (and please say how many of each!). If you want multiples of each, be sure to include extra postage.

Booksellers/Readers Groups and others who need larger quantities, please let me know using the Contact form.

If you’re too impatient to wait for mail, or if you’re just the DIY type, you can print your own bookmarks. Just click on the image to the right

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to get to a full-sized pdf file that you can print directly or save to print out later. Four different bookmarks will print on a single 8.5 x 11″ sheet of paper. For best results, use white coverstock or cardstock and a color printer—but if you don’t have either of those and still want bookmarks, go for it with what you have.  Nobody said they had to be perfect.

To clarify: I do not have the bookmarks shown on the right in the set of 4 together and cannot send those to you, no matter how nicely you ask. Those are a pdf that you print for yourself (just click on the image). The red Immortal Champion bookmarks on the left, above, are the professionally printed ones that I can send you with an SASE.